I would be interested in putting in a bulk order from coffee shrub, the commercial side of Sweet Marias. Ideally it would be next summer when I get possession of my new place, but would do it earlier if we got enough folks together. One pallet of (440 lbs minimum per pallet) works out to around $5.00/lb depending on bean varietal. I would take 100-200 lbs. I know one other guy who might also be interested in that.

Bulk order would be limited in bean variety. My understanding is if the order is by pallet, you save on shipping greatly. Shipping by pallet only allows 100 lb bags. 4 bags per pallet, 4 kinds of beans per pallet. This is info on the website. Still, that is one heck of a price.

One other idea is maybe we could go through a local commercial roaster and piggy back an order? short of the Kensington roaster, and a friend who will occasionally sell a pound here and there at retail, I'm stumped to local, as opposed to on-line.

They say that typically, green beans usually last no more than 15 months. Since I consume about a Kilogram of coffee about once a month, I'd probably order no more than 16 Kilograms of coffee at once. That's a bit of a stretch. I personally would be a little neurotic about spoilage.

That's not too shabby. I don't have a problem with saving 60 percent off the cost. I'm just not sure if I'd want to be drinking from the same variety of beans for upwards of a year.Right now, I don't have a roaster so I'll be keeping my eyes open. The price incentive, if doing this, seems worthwhile.

A Behmor 1600 is $349.95 new. Provided that I'm saving about $11/lb on coffee, I'd have to roast about 33 lbs, or 15 kg of coffee to see a return on investment at that price. I suppose buying a used roaster would probably speed that up a bit. :-)

BV_Climber Said:

One other idea is maybe we could go through a local commercial roaster and piggy back an order?

I think that's a much more practical idea. The solution above requires that I purchase a roaster and roast the batches of beans myself. They say that roastedbeans will last for about 4 months in the freezer, so I'd be very likely to order about 4 kilograms of coffee at once if the price was low enough.

Garbage In, Garbage Out, for every step of the process. From Beans to grinder, grounds to machine, coffee to cup.

I am an advocate of buying a larger bulk order simply because of the cost. For example transcend prices range from 11 - 15/lb (ish) according to their website and depending on variety. Not including the cost of frieght, a pallot costs about $4-5/lb. Including frieght, the price will most likely still be 50% cheaper. Last time I previewed a quote from coffee shrub it was anyways.

If a group buy is in order say within the next 6 months I propose this:

Anyone who is interested in this try a couple of samples of your top three choices. We look at all of the kinds that folks are thinking of and vote. We are allowed four, 100 lb bags per pallot. Top 4 voted choices get picked, and away we go.

As these group buys can be difficult because of the variables, I might end up by just simply purchasing a pallot myself in several months, and have a bit of a stock pile. If you havent noticed, I will be commited to roasting and learning and such, hence the interest in a much lower per lb price. If I have 400 lbs of green, I would be happy to sell it off at the per pound price I bought it for.

Baya Costa in Bridgeland sells green beans as well. 12/lb I was quoted on the phone, and will sell bigger orders, I asked up to 20 lbs. They said a cheaper price could be had if a bigger order was placed. Only one or two kinds of beans are kept in stock at a time though I think.

I don't understand why green beans are so expensive in Canada. As a result, I continue to order from Sweet Maria's, price ends up the same after shipping (though the thought of the shipping cost kills me), but the variety and info is great, and I enjoy supporting them. Generally ends up being 10$ per pound green.

I don't understand why green beans are so expensive in Canada. As a result, I continue to order from Sweet Maria's, price ends up the same after shipping (though the thought of the shipping cost kills me), but the variety and info is great, and I enjoy supporting them. Generally ends up being 10$ per pound green.

It's because the only way to get good coffee to Canada is to ship it freight from the U.S. At this point the coffee has already been through 1-2 middle men who want to make something off the beans they sell. Personally I think some of the profit margins for green coffee in Canada are a bit too steep.

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